Service-Learning Faculty Fellows · The final product from the team is a survey that reports students’ ... experiential learning publications and outlets for dissemination of the

Service-Learning Faculty Fellows Report prepared by Karen Sorensen-Lang as a summation of Service-Learning Fellows research project and presentation of employability survey instrument, “Professional Preparation Survey.”

Final Report Experiential/Applied Learning Research Project

June 2015

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Project Narrative Summary:

The faculty fellows group is a continuation of the 2012-2013 Experiential Learning Taskforce. The research team met by-weekly during Spring semester 2014 to frame the goals of the project and update the literature review. The team drafted the survey and distributed to pilot courses Fall 2014.

Next possible steps include drafting manuscript for journal publication and validating the survey instrument in collaboration with APU administrators and any mandate to continue work around an employability assessment initiative.

During the 2014 spring semester, the lead scholar, Karen Sorensen-Lang, assembled the team based on the recommendations from the previous taskforce, including recruiting one graduate faculty and faculty engaged in experiential learning on campus. The team members were: Julie Pusztai, Nursing and Wellness Center; Michelle Cox, School of Education; Walter Yamada, Psychology; Julia Russell Toothacre, Career Services; Karen Sorensen-Lang, Communication Studies

The group’s early efforts focused on understanding what the previous taskforce had done and responding to their recommendations. We took a step back to investigate a definition of experiential learning that reflected the literature in the field as well as what we already do and hope to assess regarding experiential learning at APU. We read and added to the literature review done by the previous taskforce, focusing specifically on diversity topics and employability. We developed research questions and gathered a list of courses where experiential learning appeared to be utilized within service-learning courses, internships, practicums, and fieldwork.

The team evaluated how to identify measurable elements of experiential learning and pulled themes from the literature review regarding best practices and standards that an assessment tool would highlight as a model and measure as an institutional data-gathering instrument. Dr. Michelle Cox and Dr. Karen Sorensen-Lang drafted the survey questions based on the literature review and university specific goals to measure key aspects of student development along the lines of the 4 Cs and employability for APU students.

It could be said that the professor team of researchers was “outpaced” by other initiatives and new positions on campus that focused on employability as a concern and goal worth pursuing more explicitly in APU’s curriculum and co-curricular programs. At the start of the research project, the team seemed to be one of the only formal initiatives on campus focused primarily on the need for increasing the university’s intentionality around employability. Since then, APU now has a Vice-President of Alumni, Vocation, and Innovation and key offices such as Career Services have been re-aligned to better support how the school prepares and supports students around components of employability. Some Academic Support and Student Life offices have also worked to include employability values in their offices’ student leadership and employment assessments. Even as different arms of the university have been highlighting employability and prioritizing programming and curriculum that makes the ways in which we prepare students for career and ministry more explicit, the Service-Learning Fellows task of creating an instrument to assess experiential learning as it relates to employability is still a current need. This instrument could be adapted to be used in courses, student leadership programs, and service-learning projects. The original request from campus leadership was to create a tool to assess how experiential/applied learning across campus contributes to student employability, mostly toward the goal of gathering broad institutional data for the dashboard, a report of key performance indicators and other institutional statistics. The final product from the team is a survey that reports students’ perceptions of how well they think they are prepared for employment, and the team believes that this survey instrument reflects how the institution currently infers employability as an explicit value and goal across our curriculum and through student experiences. This survey instrument could be adapted to gather data from intern sites and off-campus partners in the future upon adding employability student learning outcomes. The following sections provide an at-a-glance list of results of the project, list of recommendations for implementation of the survey instrument, and documents related to the research.

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RESULTS OF THE PROJECT Conferences and Presentations 1. Karen Sorensen-Lang attended the Service-Learning Campus Compact round-table at USD Spring 2014 to represent APU and gather feedback and resources for the project 2. Karen Sorensen-Lang attended the IUPUI Research Academy on institutional research and service-learning May 2014 to receive coaching from field experts on APU’s project as well as gather scales for the survey, options for theory to apply in manuscript publication, and a list of experiential learning publications and outlets for dissemination of the research. 3. Team submitted a proposal to present at the Assessment Institute at IUPUI in October 2014 and was accepted. Karen Sorensen-Lang and Judy Hutchinson presented “A College Degree Is Worth It: Assessing Experiential Learning Across Campus and Into the Workplace” at the national conference. The presentation shared the the employability literature review, faculty fellow model for research projects, institutional change theory, survey components, and discussion on employability values as they relate to liberal arts values.

Product and Tasks Completed 1. Literature Review on experiential learning and employability updated with special attention to diversity content 2. List of Experiential Learning courses at APU compiled 3. Comparison Universities’ Assessment tools gathered 4. Definition of Experiential Learning written and later integrated into Office of the Provost “Vocation: Integrated and Applied Learning” document and definitions 5. Chart of key themes for questionnaire compiled based on Literature Review and on-campus evaluation tools 6. Contributed service-learning information to dashboard data for OIRA 7. Service-Learning ongoing evaluation tools updated to include employability data-gathering questions 8. Drafted “Professional Preparation Survey” 9. Distributed survey in three courses for feedback on instrument: Modern Languages Service-Learning Course, Social Work fieldwork course, Nursing Service-Learning Course. 10. Composed final report with recommendations and survey draft

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RECOMMENDATIONS Increased Buy-in Around Employability As the university implements an initiative to increase the intentionality around employability for our graduates, the team recommends that to use this assessment instrument in a course, the course must first make explicit SLOs geared toward employability. An assessment tool may be both formative and summative when a professor knows ahead of time the components to be evaluated by the survey instrument, but it should not be used to assess experiential/applied learning projects or courses that are not explicitly designed to increase employability. In other words, data-gathering instruments should be applied only where the site has made employability a goal from the start and the professors and departments agree that employability is a priority in their curriculum map. Using this instrument in courses may promote change in course design and SLOs, but departments and professors will need to first buy in to that outcome and be provided the time to adjust the course and SLOs where needed. Some courses such as internships or fieldwork courses may need little to no adjustment to be included in the institutional data-gathering around employability. To this point, the faculty fellows recommend that:

1. Each major identify three courses where employability SLOs and course design are included and the “Professional Preparation Survey” could be used. We call these courses “touchpoints” in the curriculum where, on the department level, students would be introduced to employability ideas and goals in a lower-level course, be developed in another course that includes experiential/applied learning, and then be assessed for mastery in a culminating course. For example, a Communication Studies major is first introduced to concepts of professionalism, resume-building, collegiality, and professional communication in COMM 211, Presentational Speaking. The COMM 440 Persuasion and Attitude course would always offer a service-learning project with a community partner where students create a persuasion campaign and receive feedback from an off-campus professional. And finally, the COMM 490 Communication Internship houses the culminating learning and demonstration of mastery around employability SLOs and professional dispositions as identified in the survey instrument. This type of bite-sized and approachable expectation of three touchpoints may be most effective in moving the needle on mindsets toward valuing employability instruction and also toward getting courses to evaluate flagged and in place for gathering institutional data.

2. Stakeholders develop a communication campaign around employability targeted at department chairs and key professors who oversee the service-learning, fieldwork, internships, and capstone projects that naturally lend themselves toward becoming explicit containers for employability course content and assessment. The faculty fellows offer these questions for moving forward: Will use of a survey instrument be mandatory or voluntary and how will this be communicated? Who will “own” the work to promote healthy communication with departments and professors who may be resistant to employability as an explicit outcome for Liberal Arts programs? How might we identify chairs and departments who are eager to prioritize employability learning and development for their students, and then harness their buy-in to draw in more departments? How do we educate and collaborate with critical partners on campus such as the Director of General Education, Executive Director of the Center for Academic Service-Learning and Research, the Executive Director of Writing Programs, the Director of Undergraduate Student Success in order to create a more seamless, concentrated, and explicit effort to increase performance and support for student employability?

Ownership of Employability Initiative and Institutional Data-Gathering re Employability From the early meetings with the faculty fellows, questions often emerged regarding who or what office will place focused energy on the distribution and data-collection/reporting from the survey we set out to create. In the semesters the fellows have been working on the research and creation for the survey, it’s been evident that offices around campus are at different places in the employability conversation—resistant to adding another layer of assessment or to the idea of employability all together; already implementing professional assessments from outside accrediting bodies; content with implicit efforts to support student employability; or creating their own assessment tools and initiatives around employability that are not standardized for institutional data gathering. The research team’s questions include the following: In what ways might Institutional Research and Assessment directors be engaged in the ownership of assessing and reporting data around employability? How might the Provost office encourage or mandate the implementation of a survey instrument as a “given” in certain employability touchpoint courses across the curriculum? What appropriate pathways exist for a VP of Alumni, Vocation and Innovation to collaborate with academic programs around early exposure to and development of employability in classrooms? At this point, the faculty fellows recommend:

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1. A point person or office be designated to engage the academic players on campus in the implementation of an institutional data-gathering survey instrument such as the “Professional Preparation Survey.” The fellows recommend a centralized processor to gather, report, and track data and follow up with faculty for feedback and experiential/applied learning best practice findings. Future data-gathering might include use of the Alumni Survey and an instrument to gather data from off-campus partners who work with students. Perhaps these conversations and designations are already in place, and this person or office would be the one to carry on the work of the initial taskforce and faculty fellows. The office of the Provost has already standardized the language around Applied Learning and defining related terms *see Integrative and Applied Learning at APU document.

2. The person or office in charge of implementing the employability assessment would collaborate with Michelle Cox, Professor in School Counseling and School Psychology and co-author of the “Professional Preparation Survey” to validate the survey and implement in courses identified as appropriate for university data-gathering. Karen Sorensen-Lang has relocated away from campus but is available to consult or assist with the survey validation toward the goal of publishing the instrument and research findings with Michelle Cox.

3. Investigate how a “Professional Preparation Survey” or other employability assessment could be built into program review or other existing channels for distribution and use. How will the use and reporting of data be useful to chairs and build self-awareness for students? Does APU have a clearly articulated need for institutional data around our driving goals to graduate difference makers who are also quantifiably employable and self-aware of their professional identities?

4. Consider a move to a central office overseeing all internships. Many universities have an internship “hub” that runs all departments’ off-campus internships, instead of a professor in each department managing this as course load. This model would promote streamlined use of best practices and institutional data-gathering around a culminating employability learning experience. It would also release course units for full-time faculty who currently manage internships in majors.

Faculty Development and Resources for Employability Initiative/Assessment Tool The faculty fellows recognize that for institutional support for employability and applied learning to increase, the actions taken need to thoughtfully increase the campus-wide value for assessment and contribute to creating a culture of assessment as a given at APU on the micro levels of experiential learning projects and course outcomes. To that end, the fellows recommend:

1. Partnering with CTLA leadership and gathering feedback on their interest in an employability initiative or isolated data-gathering using a course survey. Employ the CTLA leadership teams expertise to consult and where appropriate, contribute work hours to this institutional data-gathering effort around employability.

2. Consider developing “easy-access” faculty training around current employability research i.e. videos, synthesized literature review and data, brief on-line training or in-person workshops to equip faculty who already teach and will teach courses with employability SLOs and employability assessment instruments.

Academic Reputation and Institutional Identity-formation Early in the project when the fellows reviewed the employability literature, assessment instruments already in use, and outside accreditation assessment instruments for some of APU’s professional programs, it became evident that if we included certain professional dispositions and components of what employers want, that these traits (if prescribed via an assessment instrument) might redirect how some courses conduct experiential learning projects and how certain things like placements for internships are done. For example, if students are asked to report “This project has provided the opportunity for me to encounter people of diverse populations different from my own” or “This project helped me to develop my ability to respond to others with empathy, regardless of their backgrounds,” the students will need to be placed in experiential learning settings that are diverse and other than the students familiar culture or background. This will likely preclude students from seeking out, for example, internships at a family business or other like-culture settings if faculty consider it of value to be “in line” with successful or strong data that reveals students’ experiences in the course resulted in high employability. Likewise, on a more pedagogical level, professors may need to update the design of service-learning projects flagged for employability outcomes in order to respond to such survey questions as “During the project, I regularly reflected on the experience and discussed my choices or contributions to the work,” or “This project has prepared me to accept critical feedback from my supervisors.” Faculty will need to build in reflection time and feedback channels in order to create the pedagogical situation to teach and model professional dispositions. Not all experiential/applied learning projects and courses will include certain employability traits (i.e. written and oral communication, encounters with diverse others, dependability with minimal supervision), but in creating and possibly implementing this “Professional Preparation Survey,” administration will be making a statement that the type of employability traits we value and must be included during instruction will indeed include such things as intercultural competency and communication skills.

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This instrument draws a type of “line in the sand” to communicate that APU’s identity as a university is, in part, one that clearly values diversity competency and other liberal arts/employability traits for our graduates and requires that faculty be intentional to meet those outcomes. When we step back to think about how we reach these goals, we must note that we will likely be asking professors and departments to make some sweeping changes and to focus our experiential/applied learning and employability touchpoint courses in new ways. The faculty fellows believe this will increase APU’s academic reputation when we strengthen expectations in course work, fieldwork, and internships where academic and professional performance needs to increase, and it will likewise give credit to those programs who already meet and work toward strong employability for their students. As the conversation on employability continues and as academic programs enact choices to improve instruction and support for students’ workplace readiness, APU will be able to gather institutional data that is useful to communicating a strong academic reputation and growing positive image of students’ employability. To this end, the fellows recommend the following:

1. Require that academic courses and programs that use experiential/applied learning should have a clearly outlined manual that communicates purpose, policies, and assessment to faculty teaching the courses, students in off-campus placements and projects, and to off-campus supervisors and partners.

2. Increase oversight on types of off-campus partnerships and placements that students earn academic credit for if the course includes employability outcomes.

3. Identify campus programs and initiatives that might implement the “Professional Preparation Survey” as an institutional document to promote best practice and to align efforts across the curriculum, including student leadership and employment positions, programs in development such as an interdisciplinary major focused on helping students discern vocation currently in development by Ryan Hartwig and future programs to be developed by Dr. Annie Tsai’s team.

CLOSING REMARKS The Service-Learning Faculty Fellows thank Dr. Mark Stanton and Dr. Judy Hutchinson for the opportunity to collaborate on this project that was challenging in its definitional framework to start and satisfying in its collegial experience and product in the end. As a team of researchers, we found it helpful to hear from the varied areas of campus we each represented. The professional programs are especially poised to gather and report institutional data around how the opportunities students have to engage in applied learning result in strong professional preparation for students. We also note that the key to connecting other constituents on campus to both report the good work they are already doing and to improve their employability instruction lies in a centralized person or office driving the needed cross-campus employability initiative. This person will need to focus on current employability research and drumming up the buy-in required to make explicit what all programs are doing to develop professional identities and skills for students. We look forward to any feedback or next steps the Office of the Provost may have as leadership takes stock of this Taskforce Initiative and Service-Learning Fellows research and offers insights as to how our recommendations and survey might fit into ongoing campus efforts.

Employability+Project+by+Service3Learning+Fellows+At3A3Glance,++++++++++Including)Best)Practices)and)Traits)for)Experiential)Learning)(or)Applied)Learning))!!DEFINING!EXPERIENTIAL!OR!APPLIED!LEARNING!+Learning+through+action++On+site/professional+context++Applying+classroom+theory+and+content+directly++Kolb:+involvement,+reflection,+creates+concepts+from+observation,+and+uses+concepts+to+make+decisions+and+solve+problems++Working+Definition+for+Experiential+or+Applied+Learning:+Classroom+assignments+and+instructional+hours+designated+for+application+of+course+content+where+students+engage+in+direct+experience+and+praxis+in+a+community+context,+field3work+environment,+apprenticeship+opportunity,+professional+setting,+or+professional+project.++++!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!Initial!RQs!Students What is the impact of the experiential learning experience on the student? What was the quality of the experience for the student? What was the effectiveness of the experiential learning for increasing your professional skills and identity? Faculty What was the effectiveness of the experiential learning in meeting your course SLOs? Community Partner or Site Contact What is the impact of the student engagement on the site? What is the quality of student performance? What was the quality of student connectedness to your site? +!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Employability+Project+by+Service3Learning+Fellows+At3A3Glance,++++++++++Including)Best)Practices)and)Traits)for)Experiential)Learning)(or)Applied)Learning))!QUESTIONS!WITHIN!THE!PROJECT!!++++mainly:+what+are+the+research+team’s+measurable+indicators?!+Students:++What!impact!on!employability!and!professional!skillHbuilding!do!students!perceive!they!gained!during!EL!experience?!!*in)the)end,)survey)focused)on)this)question)in)order)to)reflect)where)

the)institution)is)in)regard)to)employability)initiatives/conversation)

and)explicit)development)of)employability)SLOs)and)across)the)

curriculum)“touchpoints”)for)developing)students’)employability.)++Do+students+understand+professionalism+and+are+they+looking+for+their+professionalism+to+improve?++Are+students+making+connections+between+Christian+faith+and+the+experiential+learning+work+and+experience?++(Is+this+an+explicitly+articulated+goal+in+each+course+and+project+the+survey+instrument+would+assess?)++Courses:+Did+SLOs+explicitly+site+employability+or+traits+of+it+as+a+goal+of+the+course?++Were+the+SLOs+met+for+the+course?++Did+our+APU+course+(lower+division+experiential+learning)+and+curriculum+(upper+division+experiential+learning)+prepare+students+for+this+particular+experiential+learning+experience?++At+what+depth+are+the+varied+experiential+learning+courses+conducted:+one+assignment,+unit+of+study,+entire+course?++++++++

++++Community+Partners+and+Professional+Sites:+What+impact+and+quality+of+performance+does+the+site+report+about+APU+students?+What+assessment+instruments+could+apply+to+evaluate+both+individuals+as+well+as+perception+of+class+of+students+during+a+given+project+or+internship+placement+(number+of+students+at+sites+varies)?++In+what+patterns+or+specific+data+points+do+we+see+areas+in+which+students+most+perceive+they+need+growth?++In+what+patterns+or+specific+data+points+do+we+see+areas+in+which+site+supervisors+or+community+partners+report+students+need+growth?++Institutional+Data+Gathering+Questions+Can+there+be+a+baseline+for+this+survey+without+employability+SLOs+in+place+in+the+studied+courses?++Is+our+university+data+gathering+regarding+experiential+learning+and+employability+at+a+place+where+we+could+compare+to+other+schools?++What+would+APU+need+to+do+to+gather+this+type+of+institutional+data?++How+might+we+compare+students’+perceptions+with+data+reported+by+community+partners+in+the+future?++!!!!!!!!!

Employability+Project+by+Service3Learning+Fellows+At3A3Glance,++++++++++Including)Best)Practices)and)Traits)for)Experiential)Learning)(or)Applied)Learning))!THEMES!FOR!EL!BEST!PRACTICES!Mutual+expectations+between+prof.3student3site+are+established,+possibly+through+contracts+at+start+++Criteria+for+site+selection+are+met+(criteria+=+this+list);+Safe+but+challenging+sites+are+provided+++Handbook+provided+++Anticipatory+goals+and+intentions+are+set/articulated+by+students+and+prof,+possibly+site+contact+++Students+move+from+observations,+to+theories,+to+using+theories+to+make+decisions+at+the+site/during+experiential+learning++Students+address+problems+and+problem3solve++Promotes+good+habits+along+the+lines+of+certain+dispositions+(teachable,+flexible,+strategic+thinker)+and+professional+habits+(dresses+appropriately,+on+time,+collaborates+well,+teachable,+skilled+at+interacting+with+diverse+others)++Offers+opportunities+to+practice+and+test+foundational+knowledge,+skills,+and+theories++Students+encounter+diverse+others+and+cultures+outside+their+own+or+campus+culture;+may+have+opportunity+to+reduce+stereotypes+through+connection+with+others++Offers+opportunities+to+understand+the+self+in+relationship+to+Others+and+to+confront+assumptions+about+people+from+groups+that+students+do+not+personally+identify+with++++

+Students+are+mentored+or+guided+to+be+involved+“fully,+openly,+and+without+bias”+in+this+new+experience+and+to+do+reflection+from+many+perspectives++Students+have+the+opportunity+to+skill3build+along+the+lines+of+resume3building+activities++Reflection+happens+throughout+the+experience++Students+receive+guidance+throughout+process+on+applying+course+concepts+as+well+as+receiving+professional+and+interpersonal/+emotional+support,+at+the+minimum+at+the+start,+midterm,+and+before+end++Faculty+conduct+regular+mediated+discussions+about+the+EL+and+“foster+meaningful+interaction+with+various+facets+of+diversity”+and+allow+students+to+voice+their+experiences+and+perspectives+regarding+any+observed+social+injustices+or+reproductions+of+inequality+++(this+gets+into+university+values+and+“change+maker”+expectations+at+APU.++These+diversity+values+may+need+to+be+in+place+even+if+it+invites+a+shift+in+types+of+placements+and+locations+for+some+or+many+experiential+learning+experiences+*see+recommendations).++Faculty+share+models+(projects)+and+exemplary+outcomes+(skill+building)+to+show+students+samples+of+excellent+results++Site+partners+are+trained+in+mentoring+students+when+the+majority+of+the+EL+involves+this+type+of+facilitating+of+students+++Students+can+articulate+the+goals+and+purposes+of+the+community+partner,+business,+or+other+site+and+relate+their+work+and+contributions+to+the+site’s+goals+++

Employability+Project+by+Service3Learning+Fellows+At3A3Glance,++++++++++Including)Best)Practices)and)Traits)for)Experiential)Learning)(or)Applied)Learning))!THEMES!FOR!EMPLOYABILITY!Italics+indicate+synthesized+ideas+from+literature+review+on+“what+employers+want”+and+others+are+drawn+from+evaluations+already+used+across+campus.+++Demonstrates)creative)and)critical)thinking)))Works)successfully)in)a)team))Demonstrates)strong)verbal)and)written)skills))Demonstrates)crossNcultural)understanding)and)communication)skills)))Demonstrates)a)desire)to)learn;)can)research)or)find)needed)information))Adapts)for)everNevolving)work)places)and)industries)and)for)global)business)and)contact))+Better+understands+the+worth+of+all+people++Able+to+plan,+organize+and+prioritize+work++Demonstrates+initiative,+maturity,+positivity,+and+dependability+++Formulates+and+sets+goals++Seeks+and+accepts+feedback++Demonstrates+awareness+of+personal+strengths+and+challenges++Utilizes+strong+interpersonal+skills:+shows+interest+and+enthusiasm,+demonstrates+good+listening,+develops+good+working+relationships+with+others,+demonstrates+insights+and+adaptability+++

+in+interpersonal+dynamics,+learns+from+mistakes,+demonstrates+tolerance+and+self3regulation,+++Obtains+and+processes+needed+information+++Shows+capacity+to+be+supervised+and+collaborate+++Promotes+good+habits+along+the+lines+of+certain+dispositions+(teachable,+flexible,+strategic+thinker)+and+professional+habits+(dresses+appropriately,+on+time,+collaborates+well)++Skilled+at+reflective+thinking+and+regularly+reflects+on+her/his+effectiveness+in+the+EL+project+++Applies+foundational+skills+for+the+field+++Engages+in+professional+development+opportunities+where+available+++Supports+the+mission+and+values+of+the+site+++Site+Partner:++Site+partner+encourages+sharing+questions,+ideas,+and+concerns+++Site+partner+provides+structure,+direction,+oversight+and+feedback+++Site+partner+models+the+ethics+and+professional+standards+of+the+field+++Site+partner+clarifies+and+reinforces+high+expectations+for+performance+and+professionalism++Site+partner+maintains+an+objective+and+supportive+relationship++!

Employability+Project+by+Service3Learning+Fellows+At3A3Glance,++++++++++Including)Best)Practices)and)Traits)for)Experiential)Learning)(or)Applied)Learning))!THEMES!FOR!EVALUATING!STUDENTS!EL!PROJECTS!AND!ASSIGNMENTS!OR,+how)assessment)should)be)done)by)faculty)during)the)project!+Has+a+metric+for+progress+and+focuses+evaluation+on+developmental+markers+++Asks+for+internal+and+external+assessment,+possibly+students+assessing+themselves+and+each+other+++Includes+pre+and+post+questions+to+sensitize+students,+profs+and+site+contacts+to+expectations,+intentions,+and+goals+++Includes+faith3based+assessment;+Students+can+articulate+how+the+Christian+responsibility+to+positively+impact+community+settings+integrates+into+this+EL+++Values+and+does+reflection+well++Relates+to+specific+SLOs+for+faith3integration+and+experiential+learning+to+be+adopted+university3wide+(recommendation+from+taskforce+report+p.+25+6A)++Student+can+articulate+professional+identity+traits+and+standards+of+behavior+and+performance+and/or+can+describe+the+skill3building+experiences+from+EL+that+connect+with+the+workplace+++

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Career!Preparedness!

Employability!!Vocation!

Life7long!Learning!

Internships*and*Applied*Learning*experiences:*

1.!Provide!a!degree!of!supervision!&!self7study!that!enables!a!“learn!by!doing”!approach!!!

2.!Provide!professional!work!experiences!

3.!Ensure!opportunities!to!self7reflect!upon!the!learning!experience!

4.!Utilize!expert!practitioners!to!mentor/precept!students!in!professional!and!work!place!settings!

Integrative*Learning*

Internships*&*Applied*Learning*

Clinical!Residency!

Preceptorships!

Traineeships!!

Graduate!Assistantships!

On7campus!Internships!

Off7campus!Internships!

Service6Learning*experiences:*

1.!Combine!classroom!pedagogy!with!community!action!

2.!Test!and!evaluate!academic!theories!in!real!life!settings!

3.!Engage!in!a!positive,!reciprocal!relationship!between!APU!and!the!community!

4.!Utilize!faculty!&!community!members!as!mentors!in!the!service!learning!experience!

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Integrative*Learning*experiences:*

1.!Require!integrating!ideas/concepts!from!different!courses!

2.!Synthesize!connections!among!things!learned!inside!&!outside!the!classroom!to!deepen!understanding!

3.!Apply!skills,!theories,!and!methodologies!to!solve!or!explore!complex!issues!

4.!Utilize!course!faculty!to!supervise!integrative!learning!experiences!!

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Service5Learning*

Study!Abroad!!

Developmental!Journey!at!APU!

Student/Fac!Research!

Lab!Work!

Studio!Work!

Guided!Study!

Clinicals!

Practica!

University!Service!Credits!Portfolio!Reflection!(UG)!

Academic!Service7Learning!!

Integrative*&*Applied*Experiences*at*APU*{Connecting!ideas!&!experiences!to!new!and!complex!situations!within!&!beyond!campus}!

Credit*

Paid*

Paid*or*Credit*

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DEFINITIONS**Service*Learning:**Service!Learning!is!a!teaching!and!learning!method!that!promotes!student!learning!through!active!participation!in!meaningful!and!planned!service!experiences!in!the!community!that!are!directly!related!to!course!content,!with!a!focus!on!(a)!connecting!theory!and!practice,!(b)!critical!reflective!thinking,!(c)!personal!and!civic!responsibility,!(d)!faith!integration!and!(e)!relationship!to!students’!planned!vocation!(Center!for!Academic!Service7Learning!&!Research,!APU).!!!Integrative*Learning:!Integrative!Learning!is!an!educational!strategy!in!which!either!part!or!all!of!the!class!objectives!are!learned!by!adapting!and!applying!skills,!abilities,!theories,!or!methodologies!gained!in!one!course!to!new!courses!to!solve!more!complex!problems!and!explore!new!issues.!When!students!are!engaged!in!applied!learning!process,!“they!are!discovering!new!knowledge!in!a!sequenced,!developmentally!appropriate!way!to!enable!them!to!evaluate!evidence!critically,!make!informed!judgments,!and!act!ethically”!(AACU,!2009).!*Internships:*Internships!provide!a!location!in!which!students!can!test!out!theories!and!methods!learned!in!courses,!but!they!also!contribute!rich!material!to!students’!academic!experience!that!they!can!and!should!draw!on!in!the!context!of!their!learning!with!faculty,!staff,!and!peers!(AAC&U).!!!Employability:*Graduates'!likeliness!to!successfully!obtain!positions!in!their!chosen!fields!because!of!their!knowledge,!skills,!and!professional!dispositions!that!demonstrate!abilities!such!as!to!think&critically!and!creatively,!communicate&clearly,!work&in&teams,!and!problem&solve!in!ever7evolving!workplaces!and!industries.!*!Employers!want!employees!who:!!

• Demonstrate!cross5cultural&understanding!and!communication&skills!• Are!able!to!plan,!organize,!and!prioritize&work!• Demonstrate!initiative,!maturity,!positivity,!and!dependability!• Formulate!and!set!goals!• Seek!and!accept&feedback!• Demonstrate!awareness&of&personal&strengths!and!challenges!• Demonstrate!interpersonal&skills:!!

o show!interest!and!enthusiasm!o demonstrate!good!listening!o develop!good!working!relationships!with!others!o demonstrate!insights!and!adaptability!in!interpersonal!dynamics!o learn!from!their!mistakes!o demonstrate!tolerance!and!self7regulation!

Employability!is*“a!set!of!achievements!–!skills,!understandings!and!personal!attributes!–!that!make!graduates!more!likely!to!gain!employment!and!be!successful!in!their!chosen!occupations,!which!benefits!themselves,!the!workforce,!the!community!and!the!economy”!(Yorke,!2004,!Employability&in&Higher&Education:&what&it&is&5&what&it&is&not,!Higher!Education!Academy/ESECT). Vocation!Connection:!Integrative!&!Applied!Experiences,!vs.!1!Office!of!the!Provost!Updated:!9/3/14!!

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Professional Preparation Survey! Lang, K. & Cox, M., (Draft for review)!Instructions!Your academic program is gathering information about out-of-the-classroom projects that develop students’ professional identities and prepare students for employment. The information gathered will be used to evaluate the projects and programs, not individual student performance. !!

Please mark the option that indicates your response to the statements below. Please choose only one option from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree.!!

When responding to the questions, please consider your course assignments, discussions, and any teamwork related to the project, as well as your out-of-the-classroom and site visit experiences. !!

1. By the end of this project, I understood the goals or purpose of the community partner or business I worked with.!!

Strongly Agree _____ Agree _____ Neutral _____ Disagree _____ Strongly Disagree _____!!

2. During the project, I was able to contribute to this site partner’s goals or purpose.!!


3. During site visits, I chose to actively participate in the project.!!


4. During site visits, I was enthusiastic about contributing to the site partners’ goals and purpose.!!


5. My experiences on site helped make me a good listener, even when peoples’ opinions are different than mine.!!


6. This project has prepared me to accept critical feedback from my supervisors.!!


7. This project has taught me to seek answers to questions when I experience uncertainty.!!


8. From participating in this project, I can identify personal strengths.!!


9. From participating in this project, I can identify areas of needed personal growth. !!


10. This project has provided the opportunity for me to encounter people of diverse populations different from my own.!!

Strongly Agree _____ Agree _____ Neutral _____ Disagree _____ Strongly Disagree _____!11. This project helped me realize that I prefer to work in settings in which I interact with people who are different than me.!

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12. This project helped me develop my ability to respond to others with empathy, regardless of their backgrounds.!!


13. This project has provided me with an awareness of global, societal issues.!!


14. This project has given me the professional skills I need to help address community issues.!!


15. Through this project, I was able to demonstrate initiative to complete tasks with minimal supervision.!!


16. Through this project, I was able to demonstrate dependability to complete tasks with minimal supervision.!!


17. After being a student in this course, I feel confident that I will be able to apply what I have learned to solve real problems.!!


18. This project has encouraged me to seek out professional development opportunities. !!


19. This project has prepared me to dress professionally in professional settings.!!


20. This project has prepared me to be on time for work.!!


21. I had opportunities during this project to receive feedback on my written communication.!!


22. Because of this experience, I better understand how to formulate focused communication.!!


23. My experiences during this project increased my confidence regarding how to engage in conversation with people in professional or community settings. !

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24. During this project, I regularly reflected on my contributions through discussions with supervisor or professor.!!


25. During this experience, I was successful at creating plans to complete tasks.!!


26. During this experience, I had opportunities to use creativity in tasks or problem-solving.!!


27. Because of this project, I have increased my confidence regarding how to find information I need to complete tasks.!!


28. As a result of this project, I can articulate that I have a responsibility to positively impact my community through principles of faith.!!


29. This project has taught me how my faith defines my perceptions about the discipline/profession. !!


30. This project has taught me how I can apply principles of faith to professional issues. !!


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Demographic Questions!!

Gender !Female _____ Male _____!!

Ethnicity!Hispanic/Latino _____ Non Hispanic/Non Latino _____!!

Race!Black/African American _____ White _____ Asian _____ !Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander _____ American Indian/Alaska Native American _____ Biracial/Multiracial _____ (be specific) ___________________________ !Race/Ethnicity Unknown _____!!

Age!17-20 _____ 21-24 _____ 25-28 _____ 29-39 _____ 40-50 _____ 51+ _____!!

Major/Program of Study: ________________________________________________!!

#5,!#11,!#12!adapted!from!Steinberg,!K.,!Hatcher,!J.!A.,!&!Bringle,!R.!G.!(2011).!A!north!star:!CivicHminded!

graduate.!Michigan(Journal(of(Community(Service(Learning,!18(1),!19H33.!

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SURVEY FEEDBACK – pilot !

Please note below any questions that did not particularly apply to your project. !

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Please identify any questions or wording that were confusing or unknown to you and comment on what or why the question is unclear.!

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Documents

Service-Learning Faculty Fellows · The final product from the team is a survey that reports students’ ... experiential learning publications and outlets for dissemination of the